Electric signaling apparatus



Oct. 29, 1929. '1,733,543

A.- LANE ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 11, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheetl @Het nu,

Oct. 29, 1929. A. LANE 1,733,543'

ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS I Filed Nov. 1l, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 V/heisses Oct. 29, 1929. A. LANE 1,733,543

ELECTRIC S IGNALING A PPARATUS Filed Nov. 11. 192s s sneetsshet PatentedOct. 29, 1929 AourIca ARTHU' LANE, or MI'DDLT'QWN, oHio y 'userpics-reNALmG arritmias geneanet fusi November 11, im. 'seriali ne'.147,776?.

The present invention relates to improve'- xnents in electric-alysignaling systems and has particular reference to' 'an improved controlapparatus therefor.

`5 An important object of the invention is to providelan apparatusdesigned for intermittently operating. a plurality of re signals.

A further object of `the inventionl is the provision oit an apparatuswhich'y will autoio niatically operatefor' a' predetermin'ed'period oftime. i

A still further 'object of the invention is die' provision of anapparatus of the above character'wl'iicn positive 7in operation and :cwhich uwill be reliable n use;

"Still another object of the invention' is' the provision ofa signalingYapparatus of the above' type which is comparatively simple yet durableinconstruction and which can T be' manufactured ata relatively lowcost.

Other objects and advantages of theinvenb tion Williy becornef apparentasfthe description progresses. A t

In the `accompanying drawings forming a part of this applicati'f'an'`like reference characters are employed to"desifg" nate Vcorrespondingparte? throughout the same: f y, n.

Figure 1 s a front'eleva'tonal view of my improved apparatus, f T yFigure 'Q is a side elevational view'of the same, Y

Figure tus,

Figure iis* a bottom pian View;l

.Figure 5' is a vertical 'transversefs'ectional View taken through thecenterof structure Figui-e; ci is 'horizontal transverse tional 'viewtaken on titre' horizontal center line Figui-e 7 is aneniargedv dennview of the intermittently operablegear t'vl'i'eel,` and Figure 48r isahorizontal sectional View through the'A adjust-able governor controllingmechanis'nii The' present apparatus is designed-- prima'- rily fordiegpurpose of operating: fire' alarm signals at the intersection of.'vcongested thor-y ougli-'arcs'to- Warn crossingftrafic of the afp*- S is'top :plain new of the appara;

proachr of theire' apparatus; Signals of this character are usuallysounded for a predetermined kperiod of time, suiii'cient to Warntrjiic', at t eintersection?,f of the approach of `fire apparatus so'that theI intersection may be cleared to avoid the possibility ofcollision or `cause the delay of the fire apparatus. The

signaling mechanism is` connected in a rather extensive system andthepresent apparatus i'sfdesigmed to control the operation of a seriesy ofsignals fora suitableperiod of time While' opening the circuit to'disconnect various other signals.

Referring more particularly to the structure" embodying my invention,the numeral 10 generally designates a casing` embodying n; front casingplate 11' and a rear casing plate 12. These plates are' held in spacedvertical posi-tions by means 'of transverse spacing postsl. A transversebase 14- is supported between the'upp'er portions of the plates`,-thisbase :being o insuflaltingmaterial and provided at its torward centralportion with a rectangular recess. Rigidly secured to the rear portionof tli'e basev 14 and extending. vertically upward thererorn'- is a'contact support 15, heldin upright position by macliine screws 1:6. ThisAsupport', is constructed of fiber' or other insulating material and isprovided with a longitudinal recess 1'7 in its loW# er porticinytliepurpose' of which 'will' become apparent as the description progresses;

J ournaled in the' central portions 'of the front vand back plates 151-and 12 is a rotatable main' :shaft 18,= the forward end thereof havingva' noni-circular extension: 19 for the applicaitionE of a winding key.Rigidly secured adjacent the forward end fof the Shaft 18 is the' hub ofa ratchet Wheel 20. Rotatably fitted on the outer end ofthe said liublis a comparatively large lgear 21.'- Securedy on the inner'end oi' theliub'QO lis a circular lguide plfa'teQQ, a ring v23' being. rigidlylsecured Lbe'# tween the gear and gru/deY plete 'adjacent their'peripheral edges;v A :notch 24Cl is'y formed in periphery ofthe 23,r toral purs pose which Will later appear-f Secured at one Iendf /tollbh'e"main sh'a'iit 18 and/wound thereon is" an actuating spring 25,'ft'heouter tend I'of'u'rliliclr is secu-'red to lone of the spacing posts 13,as shown to advantage in Figure 1. This spring is held in position bythe guide plate 22 and a complementary guide plate 26 arranged at theother side of the spring.

The gear 21 is in mesh with a gear train comprising gears 27 and pinions28 secured to the gears 27 and rotatable upon a series of transverseshafts 29. This gear train provides a speed increasing mechanism adaptedto drive a governor or speed regulating device mounted in the lowerportion of the apparatus. This governor is mounted upon a shaft 30 andcomprises a pair of spaced collars 31 mounted on the governor shaft 30,one

of the collars having a pinion 31 secured thereto in mesh with one ofthe gears 27 of the gear train. Secured at their ends to the collars 31and extending horizontally therebetween are a plurality of resilientgovernor arms 32. Secured to the central portions of the governor armsare weights 33. As the governor is operated at a comparatively highspeed, the forward collar 31 is slidably actuated upon the governorshaft by the outward flexing of the arms 32, a circular brake disk 33being secured to the said governor collar and rotatable therewith.

As itis desired to control the speed of rotation of the ring 23 and gear21, an adjustable regulating mechanism is provided comprising aresilient arm 34 having its outer free end offset from the front plate11 and disposed at an angular position and its inner f end rigidlysecured to the said front plate.

Disposed against the inner end of the arm 34 is a plate 35 formed with alongitudinal slot 36 through which and the plate 12 securing bolts 37are fitted. The olfset end of the arm 34 carriesa head 38 having securedto its inner side a brake shoe 39 formed of leather or other suitablematerial. As can be readily noted from the drawing, the head 38 andbrake shoe 39 are disposed opposite the -face of the brake disk 32 andduring the rotary motion of the governor, the disk is moved towards theshoe 39 and frictionally contacts therewith to reduce the speed. rlhhetension of the arm 34 is adjusted by means of a screw 40 threaded in asleeve 41 formed on the front casing plate and projecting outwardly. Theouter' end of the screw 40 carries an actuating knob 41 carrying apointed indicating arm 42. Thus, by rotary movement of the knob 41, thescrew 40 may be inwardly adjusted, in contact with the arm 34, to urgethe arm inwardly and thereby permit increase in the speed of operationof the mechanism or reversely adjusted to permit the arm to moveinwardly by its resiliency and thereby reduce the speed of operation ofthe mechanism.

Referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings, it will be notedthat the gear 21 is rotatably driven through the instrumentality of apivoted pawl 43 carried by the ring 23 and having its forward taperedextremity normally in engagement with the ratchet 20. This pawl is heldin engaging position by means of a spring 44 embedded in the annularring and contacting with the pawl. Thus, rotary movement of the centralshaft 18 and ratchet 20 carried thereby will rotatably actuate the gear21 and gear train in mesh therewith, causing simultaneous rotarymovement of the governor shaft.

Theapparatus is designed to operate continuously during one revolutionof the gear 21, this limited movement of the gear being controlled by afulcrumed tripping lever havinga bearing collar 45 pivoted on theintermediate portion of one of the spacing posts 13 and formed with alaterally projecting tapered trigger arm 46. The inner end of thetripping lever is formed with an arcuate upwardly proj ectinvr trip arm47, curved to conform to the peripchery of the ring. Pivotally connectedto the upper end of the trip arm 47 is a lug 48 extending downwardlyfrom the trip arm and adapted to engage in a recess 24 formed in thering 22. This lug is held in the position shown in Figure 7, by itsengagement against the periphery of the ring 23 while the ring 23 isrotating, but moved to position to engage in the recess 24 by a tensionspring 49 secured to the lug and held in a pocket in the trip arm 47.From this description, it will be noted that swinging movement of thetripping lever will disengage the lug 48 from the .recess 24 and permitone complete revolution of the ring 23 and gear 21Y and operation of thegear train and governor during the period of time the gear 21 isrotating.

Slidably mounted in the recess formed in the base 14 and adapted forvertical reciprocating movement therein is a rectangular plunger 50preferably formed of insulating material and carrying a horizontallyextending contact bar 51 on its upper end. This bar is secured to theplunger 50 and the plunger is normally urged downwardly by a bowedspring 52 of substantially semi-elliptic form, the intermediate portionof the spring being secured to the lower end of the plunger and the endsof the spring being curved upwardly and in contact with the lowersurface of the base. It will be noted that the lower end of the plunger50 rests upon the upper end of the trip arm 47 so as to be verticallyreciprocated when the trip arm is oscillated.

Securely mounted on the upper edge of the contact support 15 are aplurality of resilient contact fingers 53 and 54, the lingers 53 beingarrangedl on the intermediate portion of the support and projectingforwardly in an elevated position while the contact lingers 54 arearranged on the end portions of the support and oilset to extend, attheir ends, in a lower horizontal plane. Secured to the lower sides of.the uppery Contact lingers 53 andthe 'upper sidesof: lower fngers54 arecon:- taet ein-ts 5.5. The contact pointscarried'by the ihgers- 53r and54Y are arranged. invettical alignment lwith Apoints 56 secu-red on the.upper and lower-'sides of the bar 51 respec tively for intermittentContact.

Thus the, Contactl points engagea-ble with the fingers 53 are disposedon. the upper side of the contact bar while the .points engageable withthe fingers 54 are arranged on the under side of the bar. From thisconstruction, it is obvious that when the contact bar is in its normallowered position, the fingers 54 will be in contacting position and thecircuit through the contacts 55 and 56, carried by these fingers and thebar 51, will be closed. Vhen the contact bar 51 is elevated the circuitthrough the lingers 53 will be closed to operate suitable signalmechanisms. Suitable binding posts 57 are mounted on the contact fingers53 and 54 to permit convenient connection of electric circuit wireswhile the circuit is completed by the connection of wires with thecontact bar 51.

In operation, my improved control apparatus provides for periodicoperation of apparatus connected in circuit therewith. The primarypurpose of my improved structure is to provide a simplified controlapparatus by means of which a lurality of alarm signals may be operated)for a predetermined period of time, at the expiration of which thesignal circuits will be opened and the control apparatus automaticallyrendered in active. The apparatus is set in operation by depressing thetrigger arm 46 thereby rocking the tripping lever and causing the lug 48to disengage from the recess 24. When this occurs, the spring 25 whichis maintained in a tightly wound condition, will actuate the ratchetwheel 20, gear 21 and ring 23 for a complete cycle of rotary movement.During this movement of the gear 21, the gear train will also beoperated and the governor mechanism simultaneously operated. Aspreviously indicated, the speed of the gear mechanism may be regulatedby adjustment of the screw 40 which regulates the speed of the governorand thereby determines the period of time necessary for one completecycle of operation of the mechanism. The angular position of the arm 34may be readily adj usted by slidably adjusting the plate 35 with respectto the inner end of the arm.

After the completion of one revolution of the gear 21, the lug 48 willagain engage the recess 24 and the apparatus will be locked in itsinitial starting condition.

From the construction of the apparatus, it will be readily apparentthat, as the tripping lever is rocked aboutits pivot, the plunger 50 isvertically elevated against the tension of the.. spring 52. In theuppermost position of the bar 51, while the lug 48 rides on theperiphery of the ring; 23,l the intermediate Contact points; on the.contact bar 51 and. contact lingers; 53 will mutually engage and thusclose a series of. alarm circuits. As soon as the operating cycle iscompleted and the mechanism is restored vto its normal inactivecondition, the contacts 54 'will be in engagement with the correspondingcontact points on the bar 51 toV close the circuit to a normally `setsafety signal.` From the foregoing description and the drawings', itwill be readily seen tha-t a4 compact and. durable lsignal circuitcontrol mechanism has been devised whereby a plurality of Vfire alarmsignals may be main-tained in operative position for apredeterininedperiod of time. The `construction. is' suchas to providean apparatus whichlwill be very accurate in performance and which willrequire very little attention. It is of course', necessary that thespring 25 bemaintained in `a tightly wound condition and that thetrigger arm- 4 6ybe actuated to start the operation of themechanism.After 4the trip-ping operation, the apparatus will automatically closecertain Contact circuits forja. suit-ableperiodof` time and at the eX-pirat'ion of this timeopenwthe cr'cui-ts and. restore the mechanism.toits starting condi-tion.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be takenV as "the y preferred example of the same andthat various changesas to thershape, size and arrangement of: lparts maybe resorted to without. departing from the spirit of the inventionor"the' scope ofthe lsubjoined Claims Having.l thus described my inventiomwhat is claimed is: Y j 4 y 1. Control mechanismv for electricsignaling. circuitshcomprising a, contact member, sets ofspacedcontactsarr-anged at opposite sides ofjsaid. Contact member and inspaced relatiorrthereto, a member supporting the contact member-forreciprocating movement between said;` sets of Vcontacts topositionbridging. theA coltactsf'of either set, a rotary member, motor means forrotating. the same, adetentfarranged, in one-position of adjustment, torestrain therotary Vmem-ber from' ro-V tationyand` means yieldablj7urging the detent to such.- position andthe. supporting member to onefofits positions' of movement, the said detent being manually adjustabletoA another position. ceac-ting. with'v the said rotary-V` memberjandthe supporting vmember to hold the latterinits other position ofmovement..

2.l Control. mechanism for. electric signaling circuits comprising aContact member, sets of yspaced contacts arranged at opposite sides ofthe said. contact. member and in j spaced relation thereto, amenrbersupporting the con-tact member for reciprocating movementbetweensa-id,sets ofk contacts toL position bridvinglthefeontacts of. either set,ayrotary mem er 4having a `recess in its. periphery,

motor means for rotating the said rotary member, a detent comprising amanually operable rocking lever, a lug upon the rocking lever forengagement in the recess in the said rotary member, in one position ofadjustment of the rocking lever, whereby to restrain the rotary memberfrom rotation, and means yieldably urging the said supporting member toone position of its movement and coacting with the said lever to holdthe same in position with the lug in engagement in the said recess, thelever being manually adjustable to effect retraction of the lug from therecess and the engagement of the lug with the periphery of the rotarymember and movement of the supporting member to eifect movement of thecontact member to its other position of movement and whereby the saidsupporting member will be held in said position until the said lug isreengaged in the recess.

3. Control mechanism for electric signaling circuits comprising acontact member, sets of spaced contacts arranged at opposite sides ofsaid contact member, a base having an opening therein, a supportingmember mounted for reciprocating adjustment in said opening andsupporting said contact member for movement between the sets ofcontacts, a bowed leaf spring secured at its intermediate portion to thesaid supporting member and engaging at its end portions against the saidbase and yieldably urging the said supporting member in a direction tohold the contact member in one of its positions of movement and inposition bridging one of the sets of contacts, a rotary member, motormeans for rotating said member, means for controlling the speed ofrotation of said member, the member having a recess in its periphery, adetent comprising a pivoted lever having one end in engagement betweenthe said supporting member and the said rotary member, and a lug pivotedto the said arm of the lever and, in one position of rotation of therotary member engaging 1n said recess,

the said lever being adjustable to retract the lug from engagement inthe recess and effect adjustment oi;q the supporting member to move thecontact member to the position '50 bridging the contacts of the otherset and with the said lug in engagement with the periphery of the saidrotary memberduring a complete revolution of said member.

4. Control mechanism for electric signaling circuits comprising acontact member, sets of spaced contacts arranged at opposite sides ofsaid contact member and in spaced relation thereto, a member supportingthe said contact member for reciprocating movement between the said setsof contacts to position bridging the contacts of either set, meansyieldably urging the supporting member to one position of its movement,a rotary member, motor means vfor rotating the said rotary member, and adetent coacting with said ro-

